Study Of Natural Disasters In The Tang Dynasty

The dissertation' s main study objects are four natural calamities, which are inundation, severe drought,plague of locusts and sand storm. On the basis of consulting lots of historical meterial, I attempt to analyse the natural calamities of Tang Dynasty according to the following three aspects:First, basic conditions of four natural calamities. Namely, I respectively study patterns, frequencies, seasons, regions and directions to sum up their characteristics. Second, the reasons for Tang Danysty' s natural calamityes, I inquire into this question mainly from natural and social aspects and realize that social"factors play more and more important part. The premise is that natural factor is in the dominant position. That is, the happening of natural calamity is connected with climate. But the continuous destroy of ecological environment caused by men makes the ecological environment deteriorate day after day, which in some degree accelerates the developing process of natural calamity. Third, the Tang government' s measures of providing disaster relief. The dissertation expounds six kinds of measures taken by Tany government. They are relieving, reducing or remitting, thrifty, building irrigation works, selling cheap grains, prohibiting closing buying grains and catching locusts. Furthermore, there are also a series of social ensuring measures, such as burying corpses, mending houses, medical treatment, registry servants, boiling porridge and so on. All of these measures will be evaluated and estimated one by one and analysed out their advantages and disadvantages.In a word, the frequent happening of Tang Dynasty' s natural calamities is the result of the deterioration of the ecological environment, under the big climate background. The measures taken by Tang Dynasty' s people were mostly remedial ones. It was very difficult to cure once and for all. Some were even superstitious activities, which were not desirable and should be discarded and eradicated. The dissertation' s purpose is to summarize the experiences and lessons in history to do my humble part for today' s social economy to develop healthily and continuously.